Pages

Friday, September 5, 2014

Inspired by....Sand!?!?!

Do you ever get inspired by unusual things? Well I do! Earlier this summer a "Main" country road which connects two of our State Roads had a road long garage sale so my son, his fiance and I decided to hit the road and see what we could find we couldn't live without. We stopped at one house that we've driven by for years and years and the same old lady still lives there. She must be 90 or so but she was out there with an assortment of stuff she had decided it was time to part with.

On one of the tables was this jar...

I was initially intrigued by the label - Black Sand Beach - Hawaii - 1964. I asked her about it and she told me that when she was a young dental assistant there was a convention in Hawaii and the entire office got to go. It was the first time she had ever been out of the state of Indiana and had never seen a black beach before so she collected this jar full of sand as a keepsake.

While I have been out of the state of Indiana before I've never been to Hawaii and doubt I ever will but I was and still am fascinated by the sand! It has a much larger particle size than the sand we have here in Indiana. I don't know all the technical why's and where's but it's beautiful so I bought the container and knew I'd do something with it.

Not too long ago Altered Pages got these nifty little glass bottles in stock. They have a handy rubber stopper that has a built in hanger which is great for altered charms and I knew they would be perfect vessels for my sand! I bought several packages of them and went to work!

And here's what I created...a charm which pays homage to Hawaii! I have of course poured some of the sand inside the vial and added a strip of paper with the word Hawaii on it so folks would know where the sand came from. I added some wood & bamboo beads which looked "tropical" to me. I hung a small shell off a short piece of chain which has a little surprise inside ~ a fresh water pearl! Now I know these types of shells don't produce pearls but I thought it was a fun addition to the charm. Oh and I tied the stopper to the vial with a piece of faux reed.

I'm happy with how it turned out and I hope the folks who get one in the charm swap enjoy it as well. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend...

There are actually 3 colors of sand in Hawaii...the normal color we are all used to, this black sand and a greenish-hued one. It depends on where you are in Hawaii as to which type you'll find. We saw examples of all 3 in a number of tourist attractions when we were there in 2005 to celebrate my 50th. Hawaii 5-0 was the theme of my surprise birthday party...could you have guessed?!?!?!?

We visited Hawaii on our honeymoon (my second visit) and the black sand is indeed formed by the lava from the volcanoes hitting the water. When I went, 23 years ago, it was illegal to collect/take the sand, but I managed to "accidentally" get some in the cuff of my pants. Unfortunately don't know where it is now which makes me wish I had joined your swap with a chance to receive one of your beautifully made charms!

What a fabulous idea Roni!!! Lucky find for you- that is something I too would have snapped up at a sale! great minds-heeheeI have always heard Figi has black sand beaches but never knew about Hawaii thanks for sharing! ")http://www.creatingwithoutcrayons-jackiepneal.com

Love the Hawaii 5-0 party theme! I like anything new that creates texture in mixed media projects/cards, and this looks interesting in several ways. I like the idea of using it the way it is but in addition grinding it up into smaller particles and also making a paste out of it ground up. The color looks interesting too, brown-black with specs of beige. I can definitely see this in a gory Halloween pile!

Gorgeous charm Roni. It would be wonderful if you gifted the little old lady with a charm like this one, so she could have a bit of her black sand return to her. Much nicer than her jar that she kept for so many years.

According to Hawaii legend, anyone who takes pieces of lava (which is what the black sand beach sand is derived from) will experience bad luck until they get rid of it, by returning it to Hawaii. My family lives in Hawaii and they say they often receive lava that someone took away and wants to return so they can stop the bad luck they have been experiencing. Just an FYI and sorry to be a downer.

Teach Yourself Visually - Collage & Altered Arts

About Ink Stains

What constitutes a good day in my book? Ink Stains on my fingers! I want to share that good day feeling with you by offering up a variety of card sketches, altered projects & lay-outs, challenges and goodies to get you all Inked up!
If you've got an idea that you'd like to see or challenge for me to try I'd love to hear from you...till then, Ink On My Friends, Ink On!